As you may know I am not a dancer... I recently discovered the wonderful Ballet Talk and was so thrilled to find it. My interest and attraction to ballet is so different from an artist involved in the dance or ballet.
I have always love the way dancers moved and glided. For many years I lived near the Joffrey school and was treated to many students who came and went. I had some modern dancer friends and attended numerous performances from Ballet, to Paul Taylor to Martha Graham and so on. I was not a frequent attende, but I did so when I since the 80s.
Ballet was always very special to my eyes and on a "pedestal" as a sort of "gold standard" of dance. Once sense a history and that the "interpretation was rather subtle as the ballets were "set" works... so I thought.
In the past few years we have been attending ABT 4 or 5 times a year. Each timeI attend I have a greater appreciation and "awe" of these dancers. It is very hard to articulate.
I found myself focusing less on the foot work at first, more on the entire body and lately on the upper body and the arms... which I have learned is called epaulement and port de bras. We think of dance reflexively as being about steps and footwork, but the upper body for me is where all the "meaning" of ballet is found. I call it "gesture" for lack of a better word.
I have little frame of reference because I have seen so few ballets and so few artists dance the same role. But I have seen Kent, Reyes, Wiles, Vishneva, Ferri, ... all the principals of the ABT. The epaulemnt/port de bras of Julie Kent and Paloma Herrera I found especially compelling and could not figure out where their bones went at times! These brilliant dancers can move their upper body (arms..hands fingers even) like some boneless sea creature who apendages flow with the current of the water.
And this movement is in perfect synchrinicity with the music as if it is coming fromwithinn these dancers at time. It amazes me how they can be so perfectly timed.... or whatever it is that I am seeing. I love to watch the hands and arms with my glasses... as one never sees arms and hands move with such grace and beauty.
This port de bras/epaulement seems to be something much more visable in the female dancers... am I wrong?
Any way, thanks for taking the time with dolts like me... the BT board is a treasure!
The Upper Body in Performance
in Details
A blog by Hans in General
Posted
Hans,
As you may know I am not a dancer... I recently discovered the wonderful Ballet Talk and was so thrilled to find it. My interest and attraction to ballet is so different from an artist involved in the dance or ballet.
I have always love the way dancers moved and glided. For many years I lived near the Joffrey school and was treated to many students who came and went. I had some modern dancer friends and attended numerous performances from Ballet, to Paul Taylor to Martha Graham and so on. I was not a frequent attende, but I did so when I since the 80s.
Ballet was always very special to my eyes and on a "pedestal" as a sort of "gold standard" of dance. Once sense a history and that the "interpretation was rather subtle as the ballets were "set" works... so I thought.
In the past few years we have been attending ABT 4 or 5 times a year. Each timeI attend I have a greater appreciation and "awe" of these dancers. It is very hard to articulate.
I found myself focusing less on the foot work at first, more on the entire body and lately on the upper body and the arms... which I have learned is called epaulement and port de bras. We think of dance reflexively as being about steps and footwork, but the upper body for me is where all the "meaning" of ballet is found. I call it "gesture" for lack of a better word.
I have little frame of reference because I have seen so few ballets and so few artists dance the same role. But I have seen Kent, Reyes, Wiles, Vishneva, Ferri, ... all the principals of the ABT. The epaulemnt/port de bras of Julie Kent and Paloma Herrera I found especially compelling and could not figure out where their bones went at times! These brilliant dancers can move their upper body (arms..hands fingers even) like some boneless sea creature who apendages flow with the current of the water.
And this movement is in perfect synchrinicity with the music as if it is coming fromwithinn these dancers at time. It amazes me how they can be so perfectly timed.... or whatever it is that I am seeing. I love to watch the hands and arms with my glasses... as one never sees arms and hands move with such grace and beauty.
This port de bras/epaulement seems to be something much more visable in the female dancers... am I wrong?
Any way, thanks for taking the time with dolts like me... the BT board is a treasure!